Shock absorber



Sept. 29, 1953 Filed Nov. 17, 1949 W. D. M INTYRE SHOCK ABSORBER 2 Sheets-Sheet l JNVENTOR. M'Y'am I. [272 7 Se t. 29, 1953 w. 0. MCINTYRE SHOCK ABSORBER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed NOV. 17, 1949 v i I a -"0:

INVENTOR.

FTTdFNEV-i Patented Sept. 29, 1953 WilliamDQMfiIntyre, Monroe, Mich., assignor to Patent Development Company, .MonroelMlclt,

a a partnership iApplication'November 17, 1949, Serial No. 127,850

'2 ."Claims. 1

This invention relates to =-vehicle suspensions and more particularly to.-shockabsorbers-anda novel means of mounting-the'sameiin axvehicle suspension, and is.- a continuation in: part of applicants patent application for: improvements in Shock Absorberand Vehicle Mounting Arrangement Therefor, filed -April .21, "1949, Serial No.

88,824, now abandoned.

Heretofore direct-acting, tubular, hydraulic shock absorbers, whichihave been used in.vehic1e suspension-systems, have had a dust tube or .stone I guard connected with and =-encompassing thefree end .of the piston .rod which projects outwardly beyond thetpressure cylinder l thereof.

iThe use of v:such ,a dust tube has always been thought tobe necessaryvto prevent theaccumuagainst abutment by i stones, l rocks .or a the like,

whichwould damage the rod. by .dentin or burring it, and inturn would cause. damage tQtheseaI (between the rod and pressure v,cylinderrso as i ,to adversely affect theuoperation of a .the Qshock ,ab- .sorber.

vThe applicant hasr found through extensive vtests and experimental workthat the. dusttube may beeliminated from theshock, ,absorber,gthus affecting-.aisaving. ofrapproximately fivekpercent (5%) of.the. shock absorberv manufacturing cost, if Itheipiston rod of. thefshockuabsorber is,plated ,or otherwise suitably surface, treatedhandifnthe shock absorber. .is mountedin the vehi'clein such a manner" that a. portion is of .Ithe vehicle ,or the vehicle suspension, system. will tat. least A partially embrace the externally disposed portion of the piston rod, at all. times. ,This mountingrarrangement permits. the utilization of aiportion ofthe vehicle or I vehicle suspensionv as :a gprotectonfor the istonlrodagainst abutment "by stone rocks or-thelike. .At the; same time, the: applicantihas provided a seaL between the a piston rod and. the

pressure cylinder which will preventthegingress ofanydust, dirt ;.or. other foreign material into the pressure: cylinder of the; shock absorber even though the exterior portion-of the shockiabsorber is not surrounded by a dust shield or tube.

, The. dust tube of the 1 heretofore-ausedaidirectacting shockabsorbers has also servcdras a stop f or preventing the piston of theshock absorber from engaging or bottoming ,on the compression orflbase valve in thefilower endyofthe shock .abr :2 sorber pressur cor inde ,T ot is. h du u e en a es th i ppertende-of; hepre c ind or.,-reserveituberwhen the piston is moved toward -.the,base valvewsomas to prevent the bottoming .Qf the piston-andebaservalve. However, when the dust ;tube is ;removed v from the shock absorber dasse blytthe. stop fo m v tin h b m n of ,the pistonon the. base valve is ,also removed. While,,whenashocktabsorber is;-m0unted on .an :ODerating veehicle the piston will ,notbottom a a nst the bas valve. vbottomi may o u nuinahenfiina eh pmentnnd, installing t pshoclcfiabsorber, and such bottoming, withordinar shockebsoflen cons ruct ons mi ht dama the vfluidilcu v controlivalves o w-th episto ee embly mandfibase ;valve assembly and v thereby. adversely .afiectithe..operation 0f .the Shock,..absorber. Ap-

nli antihasshowever. overcom thi pro l m by providinsnovel istonflaniibas va ve a semb y construe tionsw sovthat, theipi to um y bottomon thebase valv .es emblyvwithoutidoma ins any of the fluidcontrolvalves.

QIt is, therefore,,,an object of this invention to provide a tubularidireckoot n '..hyd ou i shook absorber,whichis.relative1y,.inexpens v to e ufacture and whio ii exce t onal dura in .use.

It ismaifurther object of. thisi invention to pro- .vides a shock absorber in, which, a portion of the v ston rodl roie t outward y" t h an beyond .jtheipressure cylindenofythe shock absorber and lishplatedsoiasvto pr entvund i ea o the seal nbetweenuthe shock, absorber piston rod and pressur cylind r.

ilt isra ti iiurthe obj ct o th fi e i t providers vehicl euspens onsyste i wh c e tubular direct;acting shock absorber is connected between. ermine end .une rune po i n o t .vehic1e..'in su vman e t th t efly disp sed, portion t eapi ton od. is a ed, r at least a rtially. n ibreo dhota lt m v b ano .k.tion.-.of th ehicle or. veh cl Su en ion Whe iby, suohport o will act ast ne or rock d efiectoriforatheflshock absorber.

It ista, still fllrther -obiectrof; this invention to :Drovide ineshock absorberof, the aforementioned ityperp t nendr es =valve assembly construo ons southatuthejpiston may bottom; on the base. valve @without idamegin anyof rthe shock absorber fluid ,fiow., controLva-lve rmembers.

t ,Theseand: other objects of this, invention will vbecome apparent from tthe vfollowing detailed description, taken ,conjunction with the ac- -companyin -t drawin iiniwhich:

.Eigure 1 isla; fragmentary front, view, partially 3 in section and partially in elevation, of a portion of a vehicle and a vehicle front suspension incorporating the shock absorber and mounting arrangement of this invention;

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1 of a vehicle rear suspension;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of the structure illustrated in Fig. 1, taken along the line 3-3 thereof;

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of a further embodiment of the shock absorber of this invention, showing the shock absorber piston assembly in spaced relation to the base valve assembly; and

Fig. 5 is a sectional view similar to Fig. 4, showing the piston assembly bottomed on the base valve assembly.

Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to Fig. 1, it will be seen that a vehicle front ground-engaging wheel 5 is connected to the vehicle frame for vertical movement by means of a suitable independent wheel suspension. The vehicle frame includes longitudinal frame members 1, which are interconnected by means of a suitable cross frame member 9. The independent wheel suspension illustrated, includes a lower control arm H and an upper control arm l3, which are pivotally mounted at their inner ends to the vehicle cross frame member 9. The outer ends of the upper and lower control arms [3 and H are pivotally connected together by means of a vertically extending steering knuckle [5, which carries a king pin assembly H on which the wheel 5 is mounted, A coil spring 2| is disposed between the lower control arm II and the vehicle cross frame member 9, adjacent the outer end of the latter. Such a construction is, of course, conventional in the suspension art, and it will be appreciated that any suitable independent wheel suspension may be employed.

Extending vertically through the coil spring 2| is a tubular, direct-acting, hydraulic shock absorber 23, which, as can be seen in Fig. 3, comprises a pair of concentric tubular members 25 and 21, the first of which forms a pressure cylinder in which a piston assembly 29 is slidably disposed, and the latter of which provides a reserve chamber for hydraulic fluid, in a conventional manner. The lower end of the tubular member 25 is normally closed by means of a ported base compression valve assembly 3|, which provides fluid connection between the lower end of the pressure cylinder and the reserve chamber, in order to permit fluid to flow into and out of the pressure cylinder, in accordance with displacement caused by a piston rod 33, which has its lower end connected to the piston 29 and its upper end projecting outwardly beyond the pressure cylinder 25, The lower end of the reserve tube 2! is closed by means of a suitable end cap or closure member 35, which carries a suitable attaching member 31, which may be connected to the lower control arm I I in any suitable manner such as that illustrated in applicants prior Patent No. 2,314,505 issued March 23, 1943.

The upper end of the pressure tube 25 is closed by means of a suitable guide element 39 for the piston rod 33 While the upper end of the reserve tube 21 is closed by means of a suitable end cap or closure member 4|. A seal assembly 43 is disposed between the rod guide element 39 and the end cap 4|, and is centrally apertured at 45 to permit the piston rod 33 to slidably project therethrough. The seal assembly 43 illustrated in the drawing comprises a rubber seal 41 which surrounds the piston rod and is confined within the upper portion of the end cap 4| by means of a retainer element 49 and spring 5|, the lowermost convolution of which seats upon the upper face of the rod guide element 39. The extreme upper end of the piston rod 33, which is disposed exteriorly of the pressure cylinder and end cap 4|, is connected to the vehicle cross frame member 9, in any suitable manner. It is illustrated as being connected to a bell or hat-shaped bracket member 53, which in turn is rigidly connected to the frame member 9, by means of rubber washers or biscuits 55 and nut 51, which is threaded on the reduced, threaded, upper end of the rod. The piston rod 33 is preferably of a one-piece construction and has its opposite ends reduced in diameter for connection with the piston 29 and the vehicle frame member 9, as can be clearly seen in the drawings,

It should be noted that the upper end portion of the piston rod 33 is not surrounded by a dust tube or shield or any other portion of the shock absorber. By eliminating the use of any sort of shock absorber, dust or stone protector around the exteriorly disposed portion of the piston rod 33, a saving of five percent (5%) of the manufacturing cost of the shock absorber is made, which in turn amounts to a total saving at the present time of from eight (8) to twenty (20) cents per car, depending on the type of shock absorber used, where four shock absorbers are employed. This large saving can, of course, be easily appreciated when it is considered that in the past a tubular member was always connected with the upper end of the piston rod and telescoped over the pressure tube 21, and that the use of such a tube necessarily added to the cost of the manufacture of the shock absorber.

In order to make the shock absorber exceptionally durable in operation, when it is mounted in a vehicle without a dust tube, it has been found to be desirable and especially advantageous to plate the piston rod with a suitable wear-resistant material, such as chromium. Such a material prevents corrosion or rusting of the piston rod, which normally would occur with an exposed, unplated steel rod. The presence of corrosion or rust on the piston rod, as it continually moves back and forth through the shock absorber seal assembly 43, would cause excessive wearing of the rubber seal element 45, which in turn would obviously adversely affect the operation of the shock absorber. As a good shock absorber is of necessity a precise and accurate device, it is essential that no foreign material enter the pressure cylinder, as the presence of such material would afiect the operation of the valving on the piston and base valve 29 and 3|. Furthermore, excessive wearing of the seal might result in a loss of shock absorber fluid, which likewise would adversely affect the operation of the shock absorber and the control of the vehicle suspension system obtained thereby. However, when the rod 33 is plated in the manner previously described, no excessive wear on the shock absorber seal occurs and even though the shock absorber rod might be engaged or struck by a small object, such as a stone, the plating will prevent corrosion and rust and will, therefore, eliminate excessive wear.

In the front independent suspension, the exterior portion of the shock absorber piston r d 33 is embraced by the coil spring 2|, whn a small portion is embraced by the bell or hat sectioned frame bracket 53, so that the coil spring "actsas a stone deilefctor drjsrdattffir 'to'n" rod "and fwill' normally prevent the'pist'onmod from beingstruck bystone's or roe and by the use 'of' a plate'd pistOnQr dQwhic' will "resist corrosion and e 'rces's'ive' wear of the {shock absorber seal-assembly. The applicant found through exhaustive -and extensive *tests e i x un iie g ie e. geared? sorber construction; is durable, "inexpensive and -verysatisfactory inppera'tion. p -As can be seen in-Fig.'*2,-' th'e ehicle rear ground whelsGI are mounted on he'- ree.r e 63 the coil spring65 isdispose'd et weenfthe axle "63' and the'vehicle body {61. The-shock absorber '23 extends upwardly through the "coil "fs'pri'ngfQS and hasaball head 69 onthelc iweren'd thereof which is attached to a'suitable'socket like bracket ll, which in turn is {connectedto'the $1611.

The -upper'end of the shock "absorberjpistonlrod 33 is 1 connected by means of the rubber "biscuits -'55 and nut 57 in the upperendofa housing portion l3-ofthe vehicle bodyfil. The tops 'ofthe pressure cylinder and of 'the reserve chamber 25 and 21; respectively, are disposed withinthe lower portion of" the housing 13. "The-piston rodof the shock absorber is, of course, plated inthe marine'r previously described, and it will bar-seen that the 'exteriorly disposed portion of "the" pistonrod is aperture 83, through which the reduced lower end 850i the piston rod 33 extends. A spacnwasher 8'! is disposed between 'the up'per face of the piston body Ti and the shoulder at the bpper end of the reduced piston rod portion, andasprin'gloaded disk valve 89 is supported between-the spacer washer and the upper face of thefpistbn body so as to normally preventthe flow of fluid .Hpwardly through the outer'setef passageways 8|. A laminated disk valve 9| abuts the lower face of the piston body 1'! so as to normally prevent the flow of fluid through the inner set of piston passageways 19 in a downward direction. The laminated disk valve 9| is loaded and supported on the lower face of the piston by means of a nut 93 threaded on the lower end of the piston rod reduced portion. The nut 93 secures the piston to the piston rod and at the same time loads the laminated disk valve.

The base valve assembly 3| includes a valve body 95, having an inner set of openings 91 and an outer set of openings 99 therethrough. The valve body also has a central aperture |9|, through which the shank portion of a rivet I03 extends. The head of the rivet abuts the upper face of the valve body and has a flange M5 on the extreme upper end thereof for retaining a spring-loaded valve I91 in engagement with the upper face of the valve body so as to normally then a "is jindfiest'refspects identical with the sh'ockab- "6 eutr set or'vaivtedypassageways. mmiit td dlsk valve 409 engages "the 1oWeIf face- 6f ithe valv e bd'dy so as tb norrnallyprvefit 'the fio'vv 01' 111116. 156v'vnvv'a rdly through the inner "set or "valve'body passageways- 91. Thedisk valve E l-09 is-'1ba ed aridi'ield in ndrlnal engagement with ilfelovver face of the time 19 3 y flange I on ii-lie sewer em-190i the *rivet, "which may be i armed-matey suitabie'ma'nner s'iihas by a spaceageeeraum I r Kathe-dust tube hasbe'en' eliminated from the 'shbc'k absorber of *this invention, the "normal means for preventing bottoming of th'epistoh asseniblypnthe base valve 'assembly has "been eliminated. However, "with the "construction "of 'this ihvention t'he pistonfassembly zsm y bottom on'the base valveasse'inbly "3 "withoutdaniaging afiy of'fthe'disk valve membersof eitherofthfe *assernblles. This is f possible because the" nut""93 fl the lever endof thepistonrod '33 will'en'gag'e the upper headed end lfliof the base valve rivet M3. the head ofthe rivet is solidly abutting the upper'fac'e of the base valve body 95, and as the nut 93 is rigidly connected with the'piston rod 33, the engagement of A the piston 'Iro'd nlit and upperfendhfthe baseva'lv'e rivet will neteatse any" defie'ct'i'onof the base'valve springsor disks, for tHe pistbh "springs 61f 'di'sks,Hfit -aSOIid' abutn't"'or *pes uve stop is provided "so ftliat'iio damage to "either "of the "valve ass''lriblis will etter. has beenprevio'iislyfpointd out, the piston assembly 29 'vvill fiot 'bo't't'om on 'thabase valve assembly a "wlientjhe sms k 'atsorter' is irrioiintd' 'ona'n fo'peratingfvhicle. However, during handlingf 'sh'ipfiin'gandiristallingfof' the shock absorbers thereis'fa; yeiydfihit'possibility of the piston "asshibly'2'9 bottem'ihgbn the base valve "assembly 3|,"and"as tha'stop normally provided u" t "tube has been removed, applicants eonstru' n oftlie pistonan'd' base valve assemfblies provides 'tlief'nec's's'arystopwithout any danger whatever'of damagefto the. piston and "valveas's'linblies, ina relatively simple, inexpens'ive' tapersqeermaaea. I p H Thes'liok'ab'sbrber illustrated'in Figs. Q-and S sorter ill I atdini tgsfse that pertain-the embodiment"illustrated in Figs. 4"- and :5, corref'spdr'iding'to' parts shown 'in Fig.3, are indicated byfpr'i'n'ie numbers "corresponding to "the .pa rt members-use "in Fig. 3. In the embodiment lustrate'd in Figsgfand 5,"the piston assembly "'2 9 is "i 'nticalwiththat previously described, 'w'ith'tlie ereeptienwhataeen spring|'|3 is interposed between a head 5 on the lower end of the piston rod nut and the laminated disk valve 9| However, as the nut is still threaded on the lower end of the piston rod 33, engagement of the lower end of the nut with the base valve assembly 3| will not cause any loading of or damage to either the laminated disk valve 9| or the spring-loaded disk valve 89'.

The base valve assembly 3| is provided with the inner and outer sets of passageways 91 and 99' and with integral center hub portions H9 and l 2| extending above and below the up er and lower faces of the valve body respectively. The spring-loaded disk valve |0'|' is loaded by spinning a flange I23 on the upper end of the upper hub portion H9, and a spacer washer I25 is interposed between the flange I23 and the upper face of the valve body. The lower laminated disk valve I09 is loaded and held in position by means of a spun flange |2'| on the lower hub portion |2| prevent the flow of fluid upwardly through the of the valve body. It will thus be seen that in this embodiment the lower end of the piston rod nut can abut the flange I23 on the upper valve body hub portion H9 and such abutment will not cause any deflection of the spring-loaded valve I01, nor any damage thereto, and a positive stop or solid abutment for the piston is provided, in the same manner as in the previous embodiment except that in this embodiment the stop is provided by an integral portion of the valve body rather than by the head of the rivet, as in the previous embodiment. Thus, in both embodiments of this invention novel, inexpensive means are provided for preventing any damage to the shock absorber when the piston assembly bottoms on the base valve assembly.

It will thus be appreciated that by eliminating the shock absorber dust shield and employing a part of the vehicle or vehicle suspension as a stone deflector, a shock absorber, not having a dust tube, may be mounted on a vehicle in a satisfactory manner and in a manner which will permit the use of a more inexpensive shock absorber than has been heretofore possible.

What is claimed is:

1. A tubular, direct-acting, hydraulic shock absorber including a pair of substantially concentric tubular members, one providing a pressure cylinder and the other cooperating with the pressure cylinder to provide a fluid reservoir chamber, means closing the opposite ends of said tubular members and including a base valve assembly disposed in said pressure cylinder adjacent one end thereof and providing for fluid communication between the pressure cylinder and reserve chamber, a piston assembly slidably disposed in said pressure cylinder and including a ported piston body, valve members for controlling the flow of fluid through said piston body, a piston rod having a portion extending through the closure means at the opposite end of the pressure cylinder from said base valve means, means connecting said piston body to said piston rod adjacent one end thereof, the exteriorly disposed portion of said piston rod being unconfined by any part of the shock absorber, said base valve assembly including a valve body, valve members positioned on the upper surface of the said body, said assembly having a rigid, non-flexible part provided with an upper headed end overlapping said valve members and an annular shoulder positioned in direct abutment with a mating supporting surface on said valve body to stop movement of said piston in a direction toward said base valve assembly.

2. A tubular, direct-acting, hydraulic shock absorber including a pair of substantially concentric tubular members, one providing a pressure cylinder and the other cooperating with said pressure cylinder to provide a fluid reservoir chamber, means closing the opposite ends of said tubular members and including a base valve assembly disposed in said pressure cylinder adjacent one end thereof and providing for fluid communication between the pressure cylinder and reserve chamber, a piston assembly slidably disposed in said pressure cylinder and including a ported piston body, disk valve members engaging opposite faces of said piston body for normally preventing the flow of fluid through said body in one direction or the other, a piston rod having one end extending through the closure means for said pressure cylinder at the opposite end thereof from said base valve assembly, the exteriorly disposed portion of said piston rod being unconfined by any part of the shock absorber, the opposite end of said piston rod extending through said piston body, means rigidly connected to the end of the piston rod extending beyond said piston body for securing said piston rod to said body and for normally retaining one of said valve members in engagement with the adjacent face of said piston body, said base valve assembly including a ported valve body, an annular valve member movably carried by said body and normally engaging the upper face of said valve body for normally preventing the flow of fluid through said valve body in one direction, said valve assembly having a portion projecting beyond one face of said valve body into said pressure cylinder and overlapping said valve member, so as to provide a positive stop and rigid abutment against which the means rigidly connected to the piston rod may abut.

WILLIAM D. MCINTYRE.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,087,451 Rossman et al. July 20, 1937 2,163,254 Binder et al June 20, 1939 2,314,505 McIntyre et al. Mar. 23, 1943 2,334,597 Badertscher Nov. 16, 1943 2,346,275 Read et al. Apr. 11, 1944 2,373,508 Snyder Apr. 10, 1945 2,426,447 Gladden et al Aug. 26, 1947 2,578,138 Janeway et al Dec. 11, 1951 

